


"New" traditions

by popnographic



Series: SouHaru drabbles [4]
Category: Free!
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Gou steals all the attention and the boys love her a lot, M/M, birthday celebration, couples battling for the 'most gross couple of the century' award
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 09:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4782671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/popnographic/pseuds/popnographic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haru finds out from Rin that Sousuke normally doesn't celebrate his birthday, so he decides to take matters into his own hands and do something about that. Hopefully, it'll turn into something that Sousuke <i>does</i> celebrate every year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"New" traditions

**Author's Note:**

> A card was released along with the rest of Sousuke's birthday goods, which you can see [here](https://36.media.tumblr.com/bbb32ee1b1e0a7df5df4b12a466d1f20/tumblr_ntx3dn4LHF1qfzlwxo4_540.jpg), and it says "Oh, it's my birthday today. I'm not really used to these things, so I don't know what to say. But thank you. Yamazaki Sousuke." This poor kid's probably never celebrated his birthday (seriously, what IS it with the parents in this series?) so I wanted to do something about it.
> 
> Happy birthday, Sousuke. Today's your birthday, tomorrow's mine. Funny (did you mean: **awesome** ) coincidence.

Haru raises his eyebrows in disbelief, but Rin doesn't look like he's joking at all. They're sitting in Haru's living room on the opposite sides of his kotatsu, with Makoto soon joining them as well, still being on his way home from work.

"What do you  _mean_  'he doesn't celebrate his birthday'?" Haruka asks, baffled by the weird statement. "Everyone does."

"No, they don't", Rin simply replies. "Sousuke doesn't. He rarely did when he was young from what I've heard, and since he doesn't tell people when his birthday is, people obviously don't know, and don't arrange a party or something for him. It just pisses me off that people never  _asked_ , either. At least I tried, and it wasn't as if I didn't already feel bad for being in Australia every time his birthday came around. I sent him stuff via air mail, but that's... obviously not good enough to call a birthday celebration."

Haru frowns. While he'd grown up barely seeing his parents at all, he'd still at least celebrated his birthdays since his friends wouldn't let him  _not_ do it. And in recent years, he's come to appreciate the gesture of them always doing at least  _something_  to commemorate the day he was born. There are days where he doesn't feel like that's really something to celebrate, but his friends always make sure to remind him of why it is.

"I'm going to celebrate his birthday", Haruka states as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. To him, it is, but he can see that Rin is surprised by his sudden decision.

"Okay, fine with me. How?"

"Nothing big", Haru shrugs. "Just dinner or something, and a gift. I don't know what to buy him, though."

Rin laughs. "I see you've got things planned. Seriously, you could give him anything and he'd appreciate it just because he was given something. But... he does like music. Like, rock music, alternative, that kind of stuff. Maybe something along those lines?"

Haru recalls the day he'd been called into Sousuke's and Rin's room back at Samezuka Academy's halls of residence, when Sousuke had confessed, the most cliché thing you could imagine complete with the stuttering, eyes darting in all directions but Haru's, fidgeting — all of it. He'd been let in by Nitori who met him at the reception, and guided him to where he was supposed to be. And when he'd knocked on the door, he hadn't received a reply, but Nitori assured him Sousuke had to be in, and said to just walk in. So he did, despite being hesitant about walking into another guy's room without letting him know beforehand. Teenage boys and their libido, and all that.

Sousuke had been lying on his back up on the top bunk, and of course, had been listening to music with earphones in, oblivious to the world around him. It had taken a lot of Haruka's self-control to not scare the living hell out of his soon-to-be boyfriend (which, of course, he had no idea of at the time), so instead, he snuck up to the bunk bed and lightly poked Sousuke in the side. Sousuke had flinched violently and dropped his phone down in between a gap in the boards, thankfully having it land on Rin's bed, and he'd screamed. Loudly.

After Sousuke had come down and the two had stood in an awkward silence for what felt like hours, Sousuke had finally blurted out his clumsy confession that had stumped Haru before he smiled, eventually not being able to hold in his happiness, and soon enough laughing. Poor Sousuke had looked so confused, as if he'd said something  _funny_ , but Haru clarified that he'd just been happy. Very much so. Relieved, even. And that had been the very cliché start of their relationship, which had taken off nearly two years earlier.

Haru smiles a little and leans forward on the table. "I'll see what I can come up with. Thanks, Rin."

"Sure. So are we allowed to come, or is this a private celebration you're planning?"

"Of course you're allowed to be there. Actually... I _want_ you to be there. Here."

The meaning behind his words is something that dies in his throat, but Rin looks like he gets the message. "Got it. Just let me know when we can come over and we'll be there. I'll try and drag Gou with us, too."

As if on cue, there doorbell rings, and Haruka gets up to greet his best friend and let him in.

 

* * *

 

Haruka had reluctantly come to terms with the fact that he'd have to cook something that wouldn't include mackerel for the evening, but since he also didn't want pork, he'd compensated with beef. He knows Sousuke won't mind, since it's at least not mackerel, and it's still meat. How he's managed to live with Sousuke like this for as long as he has is a mystery even to himself.

He's had beef, ginger, and long green onions in the slow cooker for about four hours now, and now there isn't much left to do, thankfully. He hates cooking things that take hours when all he can do is  _wait_ for it to cook, and that's why his slow cooker's usually stashed away in the cupboard by his stove. He takes time when he's doing something like painting or drawing, but when it comes to food, he's rather impatient. So now when he's stir fried vegetables and once again submerges the beef in broth and this time curry mix, he sighs at having to wait another fifteen minutes or so until it's  _really_ done. Thankfully, Sousuke hasn't shown up yet, and he hasn't even texted or called any of them, so he figures he'll be fine.

"Can I hide in your hallway closet?"

"Is that a metaphor for something?"

"Fuck you, Haru."

Haru snorts and rolls his eyes. "Do whatever you want, but don't make a mess, and don't break anything. Makoto, you're hiding somewhere else."

Ignoring the way Makoto flushes beet red, and how Rin glares at him for that remark, Haruka sits down on his couch with a sigh, knowing he'll have to get up soon again to check the potatoes and carrots in the beef curry. Gou nudges him in the side with her elbow and smiles.

"Are you sure you don't want any help? Because I'm here not really doing anything, so just ask."

He shrugs with one shoulder and leans back against the couch. "No, it's just about done, just has to simmer down for a bit. Thanks for asking, though."

Haru chews on his lower lip and looks down at his hands. He wonders if Sousuke's going to think that the dinner Haru's made for him is too simple, if it's not suitable for a birthday dinner. Haru doesn't even know himself if it is, he just knows Sousuke's a sucker for anything with meat in it, whether it's pork or beef, and Makoto always tells him he makes a kicker beef curry. So, naturally, that's what he's going with. Playing it safe, knowing he won't screw up the dish. It's just a matter of whether or not Sousuke wants to have such a dish on his birthday. Maybe he wants to eat out at a fancy restaurant instead? Maybe—

"He's going to  _love_ it, Haruka-senpai."

Haru turns and stares at Gou in slight horror. "Stop doing that", he says.

"Do what?"

"Read my thoughts. Get out of my head. And _please_ stop calling me 'senpai', we've been out of high school for years. It's weird."

Gou laughs, leaning her head against his shoulder for a second. "Not gonna happen. And it happened unconsciously, I promise. I'm serious, though; he's not going to dislike  _anything_ about tonight. Maybe not even that _we're_ here, as well."

Haru frowns in distaste at her wording. "He likes you."

"I know, but maybe he wants to be alone with you. You guys don't get that much time together these days as it is, that's what I'm thinking. And it's his birthday."

"I think it's better the more people are here", Haru counters stubbornly. "Since he rarely ever celebrates his birthday and all that."

"Alright, if you say so. Then I'll stay. At least let me set the table? Obviously when he's already here, or it'll be revealed right away."

Haru relents, and  when roughly ten minutes have passed, he returns to the kitchen, checks the flavour and texture of things before he considers the beef curry done, after which he turns off the stove. He hasn't heard anything from the other two also with them in the house, and sincerely hopes they aren't being gross in his bathroom or both magically fitting in one of his hallway closets and being gross there. He shudders at the thought, and goes to look for the two. That's, unfortunately, when his doorbell rings. Gou jumps up from the couch, and then she darts in under the kotatsu to hide. Haru holds back a laugh as he goes out to open up for his guest.

He opens and finds Sousuke standing on his doorstep, and feels his heart do a somersault in his chest. "Hey", he says. "Come in."

Sousuke nods and walks in, and when he's well inside and has taken his shoes off, he comes up to Haru and gives him a kiss on the forehead. "Smells amazing. What're you making?"

"You'll see", Haru replies, and takes Sousuke's hand to lead him into the house proper. He glances at the kotatsu as they walk in, and then decides to sit Sousuke down on the couch by it instead of on the pillows, which would be just centimetres away from where Gou is. "Dinner's just about ready. Just, er, make yourself at home, I guess."

"No need to tell me that  _now_ , Haruka. I'm practically home, anyway."

Haru tries to not blush hard at that comment, but knows he's probably failed. So he turns around quickly and heads for the kitchen to take the pot out and put it on the kotatsu table. He just hopes Gou won't decide to jump out just as he puts it down since he's sure he'd flinch and possibly spill food all over the place. Deep breaths. He's cooked for Sousuke before, and this time shouldn't be any different. Except it clearly is, since it's his birthday, and it feels to Haru as if he's already forgotten that fact.

As he's in the kitchen and picks up the pot, he hears a 'boo!' and Sousuke's horrified yelling, and he can't help but smile. Okay, so at least Gou didn't do it when he'd been just about to set down the pot on the table, which he's infinitely grateful for. Upon returning to the living room where Gou is now sitting next to Sousuke by the kotatsu, Sousuke looks at Haru with a horrified expression on his face.

"What the  _fuck_ , Haruka, you could've told me you were hiding Gou here."

"If I did, it wouldn't be a surprise, idiot", Haru says and sniffs. Gou laughs and gets up from her spot next to Sousuke, but not before hugging him and ruffling his hair.

"Happy birthday, Sousuke-kun. Well, I'll go set the table, then, Haruka."

Haru hums in appreciation of her finally dropping the honorific, but Sousuke looks displeased.

"Hey, only I get to call him that. Say 'Haru' instead."

Gou sticks her tongue out at him and disappears into the kitchen. Haru's just about to wonder where the remaining two had gone off to when he hears two voices out in the hallway. They're trying to whisper and be discreet, but they're anything  _but_ discreet and everyone else in the house can hear them. Haru rolls his eyes at how bad those two are at surprising someone.

"Think he's here already?"

"I heard someone scream before. Sounded like Sousuke. And he calls  _me_ easily scared, sheesh. What do you suggest we do?"

"How about just coming out already, since we can hear you loud and clear", Sousuke calls out. Gou laughs in the kitchen, and Haru snorts for the fifty-eleventh time that day slash evening. Seconds later, Rin and Makoto emerge from the hallway and come into the living room. Rin beelines for the couch and lands next to Sousuke, after which he proceeds to punch Sousuke lightly in his shoulder — left, of course — and grin like the idiot he is.

"Happy birthday, Sou! Bet you weren't expecting  _this_ , huh."

Sousuke raises an eyebrow, but he smiles. "I wasn't, but  _god_ , you're terrible at sneaking. Even blind people would be able to find you when playing hide and seek."

Gou snickers as she comes back into the living room to set the table with bowls and spoons, returning to get the rice which is just done as well. Makoto joins them and goes to sit on Sousuke's other side and give him a hug, initiating a Makoto-like conversation which could be either about the weather or about kittens. Mostly, it's kittens, and Sousuke  _always_ humours him, which Haru doesn't understand how, but he's still glad Sousuke and Makoto get along so well, being able to bond over something as ridiculous as cats.

When Haru lifts the lid on the pot, Sousuke looks down into it, and his eyes widen. "You did  _not_."

"I did."

"Oh my god, marry me."

"Okay", Haru shrugs.

"I can't believe you two", Rin says, and Haru sees Makoto stare at him like he's lost his mind. "And you call  _us_ the gross, married couple."

 

* * *

 

The five of them begin eating dinner, and it doesn't take long before Sousuke begins gushing about how  _amazing_ it is and how he's the luckiest guy on earth because his boyfriend cooks like a Michelin star chef. Haru frowns at the ridiculous praise to cover up for the fact that he's almost imploding with embarrassment, and Rin shoots him smug looks and comes with snide remarks that makes Haru want to kick him, but he refrains. For tonight, at least. This is Sousuke's day, after all, and he doesn't want anything else to steal the attention. Like Rin whining about Haru not loving him and becoming a sap of true Rin quality.

Haru cleans up after dinner, which Sousuke thanks him for with a kiss that's  _so_ not PG and not for others to see, a kiss that makes Gou groan in disgust, Rin howl like an idiot, and Makoto avert his gaze, blushing. If there's one thing Haru's dead sure of, it's the fact that his boyfriend will one day be the death of him in one way or another. Contributing to a not so spontaneous self-combustion? Doesn't seem too unlikely nowadays.

When he comes back out into the living room, Rin's already opened the bottle of sake he'd given Sousuke as a birthday gift — talk about rude to open someone else's gift — Makoto's trying to tell him that it's Sousuke's gift and that he should really put that thing down (god bless him). He probably means to say "before it's too late", because he knows what Rin turns into when he's drunk. He knows Makoto will have to take care of him like the giant baby he is, complete with the crying, and Haru knows Makoto's already got his plate full.

He takes the bottle away from Rin, who barks a "hey!" at him but doesn't make an effort to take it back, and then he goes to sit down next to his boyfriend, who seems rather occupied with Gou on his left. The sight of Sousuke making Gou laugh until there are tears in her eyes is beyond endearing to Haru, but he decides to pretend being a dick and sits down next to Sousuke with mock-jealousy written all over his face.

"Wish you would make  _me_ laugh like that", he says and fakes a pout. Sousuke turns his attention to Haru, and he raises his eyebrows.

"You kick me whenever I tickle you, and you never laugh at my jokes. What do you want me to do to make you laugh?"

"Tell  _funny_ jokes, for starters."

"Gou likes them", Sousuke retorts, and Gou nods, still laughing.

"Well, maybe you should date _her_ , then", Haru says and turns his nose upward. He knows Sousuke's aware of him pretending to pick a fight; it's something they do quite a lot. For the most part, Rin and Makoto are able to quickly figure that out for themselves, but there have been certain instances where Makoto's interrupted their bickering with a worried frown on his face, attempting to reconcile two boyfriends who aren't even mad at each other. It's probably because of their mostly stoic personalities, Haru figures, but he's secretly glad over the fact that they're able to mess around with their friends and play pranks on them every now and then.

"Fine, maybe I will. Gou, date me. You already had me falling for you with that hoodie. You _do_ know I'm gonna practically live in that thing, right?"

"Oh, with pleasure, Sousuke-kun", she replies sweetly and nuzzles her head into Sousuke's good shoulder. "And yes, that's what I was aiming for."

"Hey, you don't have permission to date my sister, jerk", Rin cuts in and flips his best friend off, who gladly returns the gesture.

"You don't get to decide who I do and  _don't_ date, onii-chan", Gou chides. "Besides, no one's gonna be able to steal Sousuke-kun from Haruka. Oh, sorry —  _Haru_."

Sousuke snorts, before turning to Haru and kissing him on his temple. "You're damn right about that."

"Gross", Rin comments, and Haru glares at him.

 

* * *

 

In the end, Sousuke's birthday had turned out to _not_ be all about him, and Haru feels bad for it not to have turned out the way he'd wanted it to. Sure,  _he's_ enjoyed himself a lot tonight, but did Sousuke think it was a good way to celebrate his birthday? He doesn't know, but he has to ask.

"Did you enjoy your birthday?"

Sousuke smiles a little at him and presses a kiss to his forehead. "Of course I did. I had the best fucking day I've had in years, probably in all my life. You guys didn't have to buy me _gifts_ , as well. I can't believe those headphones you gave me. Do you have any _idea_ how good they are?"

Haru rolls his eyes. "Well, the guy in the store said they were among the best they had, so I had a general idea, yes. I'm glad you like them."

" _Like_?! Oh my god, you— fuck, just come here."

Before he's able to say anything, Sousuke pulls him up on top of himself, and Haru nearly protests. But he likes the position, and almost turns into a cat who curls up on top of their owner. Except he  _isn't_ a cat, and Sousuke obviously doesn't own him. Sousuke puts a finger under his chin and brings his face close for a kiss; slow, passionate, a kiss that tastes like home. Home is a concept he's had presumptions about, but then his boyfriend blew it to smithereens and taught him that family doesn't have to be people who are connected by blood, that home doesn't have to be a physical place. Sousuke is his home, his safe haven, and his constant reminder that life might not be perfect, but it's damn well worth living.

"Not that I'm complaining, of course, but  _why_ did you want to do this?" Sousuke asks when he pulls apart, and Haru frowns a little.

"Because you weren't used to celebrating your birthday. Your birthday is supposed to be a special day, you know."

Sousuke shrugs. "I just never had reason to celebrate it. Now I do, I guess. Thank you, Haruka. I mean it, today was... _such_ a fucking good day."

"Well... good", Haru mumbles. "That's what I wanted it to be."

"I love you, you know that?"

"Yeah, I do. Happy birthday, Sousuke."

Sousuke grins. "Thanks. I think my birthday's over now, though."

Haru glances at the digital alarm clock on Sousuke's nightstand, and hums. "You're right."

He lies down again, and when it's gone completely quiet in their bedroom, Haruka takes Sousuke's hand in his under the duvet. "I love you, too."

"I know."

**Author's Note:**

> Well, jeez — this turned out a LOT longer than I had intended. I'm not surprised, because I do this a lot. Sorry. (Not sorry.)
> 
> Also, HaruGou/SouGou is my friggin' jam. You have no idea just how important Gou is to me, and how much I need of her in fics in general. I just want more of her in like _everything_ , really. I know this was supposed to be for Sousuke's birthday, but it kinda turned into "Gou crashes the party and steals all the attention". Oops.


End file.
